2012 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl Preview

Date: December 20, 2012 8:00 PM ET
Stadium: Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California
Payout: $500,000 per team
Played: 2005-present
Former Names: N/A
Broadcasters: Carter Blackburn, Rod Gilmore
Sideline Reporter: Jemele Hill

BYU: A powerful and well-rounded Cougars defense held opponents to the second-fewest rushing yards in the nation, the thirteen-fewest passing yards and the fifth-fewest points. Head coach Bronco Mendenhall was an assistant to San Diego State's Rocky Long at New Mexico from 1998-2002. BYU is making its eighth consecutive bowl appearance and has a chance to get its fourth straight bowl victory against a former conference mate.

San Diego State: The Aztecs' nine wins were the most in the regular season since 1977. The Aztecs' November 3rd win over Boise State was the first road victory over a ranked opponent in school history. San Diego State's current seven-game winning streak is the school's first since 1981. Rocky Long's team looks to make it eight straight for the first time since 1975 against a team that stole a victory on a controversial call in their last meeting in 2010.   

	Brigham Young			San Diego State
Overall Record	7-5		Overall Record	9-3
Conference Record	N/A		Conference Record	7-1
Bowl Record	12-17-1		Bowl Record	2-5
Last Bowl Win	2011 Armed Forces		Last Bowl Win	2010 Poinsettia

All Time Series: 27-7-1 Brigham Young
Line: Brigham Young by 3

2011 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl Preview

Date: December 30, 2011 12:00 PM ET

Stadium: Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, Texas

Payout: $600,000

Played: 2003-present

Former Names: Fort Worth Bowl (2003-2005)

Broadcasters: Dave Neal, Andre Ware

Sideline Reporter: Cara Capuano

All Time Series: 6-1 BYU

Line: Tulsa by 1

	Brigham Young			Tulsa
Overall Record	9-3		Overall Record	8-4
Conference Record	N/A		Conference Record	7-1
Bowl Record	11-17-1		Bowl Record	8-9
Last Bowl Win	2010 New Mexico		Last Bowl Win	2010 Hawaii

Big East Expansion Targets

With the announced departure of West Virginia from the Big East last Friday, along with the previous news of TCU, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse turning their backs on the Big East, the once-proud conference is fighting for its survival.

The Big East is looking to add Houston, Southern Methodist, and Central Florida in all sports.

The Big East is looking to add Boise State, Air Force, and Navy as football-only members.

The Big East will need to make one more invitation to get to John Marinatto's desired size of twelve members with the recent loss of West Virginia. Other schools being considered are BYU, Army, Temple, East Carolina, and Memphis.

Looking at how unstable the Big East is right now, why would any school want to make the jump? There is no guarantee the Big East will keep its autobid to the BCS after 2013 even if it does patch itself back together. Announcements on whether these schools will go to the Big East or not will be released tomorrow it is rumored. It is unlikely all of the six aformentioned schools will join if invited.

The Big East needs to figure out what it wants to be: a basketball conference or a conference for all sports. Some conference members don't field football teams. Some conference members like Notre Dame are involved in all sports except football. Other conference members are committed in all sports. There are offers are being made to schools to be football-only members. Unequal commitments will not work in the long term. The Big East needs to get this in its head or it will forever be destined to fail.

Helmet Stickers: Week 1

ACC—Maryland laid waste to Miami on Monday night in fashion, sporting new uniforms based off of the Maryland state flag. Maryland took a 26-24 lead with 1:39 left in the game via a field goal. With Miami driving, Maryland defensive back Cameron Chism picked off Miami’s Stephen Morris on fourth down and ran 54 yards for a touchdown to put the game out of reach with less than forty ticks left on the clock. Maryland sophomore quarterback Danny O’Brien passed for 348 yards. Maryland avenged its 20-26 loss to the Hurricanes last year. Terrapin football is back.

Big 10—Northwestern picked up a quality win over Boston College Saturday in their opener. With Dan Persa still injured from a ruptured Achilles tendon, sophomore quarterback Kain Colter stepped up and played well. Colter completed 70.8% of passes on 24 attempts. The Eagles drove into the red zone looking to tie the game at 24 in the final minutes of the game, but senior defensive lineman Vince Browne came up with a sack on the final play to end the game.

Big 12—The Baylor Bears got the best of last year’s Rose Bowl winner in a shootout. TCU’s streak of 25-straight regular-season victories came to an end as the Bears beat a ranked opponent for the first time since 2004. A field goal from Aaron Jones with 1:04 left in the game sealed the 50-48 win after the Horned Frogs came roaring back scoring 25 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to take a 48-47 lead. Bears quarterback Robert Griffin III was phenomenal, passing for 359 yards and five touchdowns. After one week of play, Robert Griffin III looks to be a legitimate Heisman candidate.

Big East—South Florida upset No. 16 Notre Dame in South Bend in a game that had two rain delays. The South Florida defense forced two fumbles and made three interceptions to win the turnover battle 5-0. USF cornerback Kayvon Webster recovered a Notre Dame fumble and ran 96 yards for a touchdown to set the tone of the game just four minutes in. Despite gaining half the yardage that Notre Dame did, the Bulls played smarter football, exploiting the Irish’s mistakes and weaknesses.

C-USA—Case Keenum started his sixth season on the Houston Cougars with a quality 38-34 win over UCLA. Keenum threw for 310 yards, and wide out Tyron Carrier had 10 grabs for 138 yards. Houston’s victory avenges a loss last season to the Bruins and has moved Kevin Sumlin’s stock up as Rick Neuheisel’s stock drops.

MAC—In a game featuring the debuts of two new head coaches, Ball State came out on top of Indiana 27-20 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Cardinals quarterback Keith Wenning was efficient, going 23 for 29 with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Ball State rushed for 210 yards and controlled the rock for the majority of the second half. Ball State punter Scott Kovanda averaged 44.3 yards on three punts. The Cardinals have won their last two meetings against the Hoosiers.

MWC—The Broncos defeated Georgia 35-21 in Atlanta Saturday night. Boise State has taken down yet another BCS conference school and got its first victory over a SEC school. Broncos quarterback Kellen Moore went 28 for 34 passing, connecting with nine different targets. No. 5 Boise State looks to off to another great season and another BCS bowl game.

Pac-12—California picked up a solid win over Fresno State. It was the first time Cal beat Fresno State in three meetings. Cal quarterback Zach Maynard and wide receiver Keenan Allen are half-brothers. They connected for 112 yards through the air. The Golden Bears defense picked up 4 sacks. Despite 11 penalties, the Golden Bears were 7 yards short of doubling the Bulldogs’ modest 210 yards of total offense.

SEC— Two top 5 teams faced off on the opening weekend of college football, and LSU came out the winner over a stacked Oregon team 40-27. With starting quarterback Jordan Jefferson suspended because of a preseason brawl, backup Jarrett Lee did enough to lead the Tigers to victory. Oregon turned the ball over four times and the Tigers took advantage of the breaks, converting three Oregon fumbles into three touchdowns. LSU’s running backs Spencer Ware and Michael Ford outplayed Oregon’s star-studded tailbacks. LSU has won 34 straight nonconference games, the longest such streak in the nation.

Sun Belt—The Golden Panthers went to 1-0 in Sun Belt play after beating North Texas in their opener. FIU scored 28 points in the first quarter, a record for the program. Senior wide receiver had 283 all-purpose yards from receptions, rushes, punt returns, and kickoffs. Running backs Dariet Perry and Kedrick Rhodes each ran for two touchdowns. The Golden Panthers look to be a contender for the Sun Belt title.

WAC—Hawaii was the only WAC team to win in Week 1. The Warriors ran over Colorado 34-17 behind good quarterback play from senior signal-caller Bryant Moniz. Moniz, known as a passing quarterback, unleashed another dimension to his game by running for 121 yards in the opener, more yards than he rushed for all of last season. Hawaii cornerback Mike Edwards averaged 35.5 yards on two kickoff returns. Hawaii is the frontrunner to win the WAC this season.

Independents—In its first game since leaving the Mountain West Conference, BYU defeated Ole Miss in a close game by a score of 14-13. The Cougars trailed by a score of 0-13 in the fourth quarter. Wide receiver Ross Apo pulled in a touchdown catch with 9:52 left. With 5:09 left the Cougars defense forced Ole Miss’s quarterback to fumble, and linebacker Kyle Van Noy jumped on top of the ball in the end zone to give BYU a one point lead and the eventual win.

Texas A&M Is Adamant On Leaving The Big 12

Texas announced today it is adamant on leaving the Big 12 and hopes to do so by July 2012. It will agree to pay the penalties associated with leaving the conference. The Aggies are still hoping to get in with the SEC, but it sounds like they may be open to joining any conference. The other viable options would probably be the Big 10 or the Pac-12.

If the Big 12 looks to survive as a conference, it will have to find a replacement. Current independant BYU would be a good fit. The Cougars would be able to compete in the conference and would now have better access to playing in a BCS bowl game. Southern Methodist has publicly expressed interest in joining the Big 12, but the addtion of the Mustangs would not add a new television market like the addition of BYU would in Salt Lake City, Provo, and Ogden. It is also debatable whether the 'Stangs could compete with the large state schools. Houston and Texas Christian would be able to hold their own with the current Big 12 members, but again no new television markets would be added, so taking another Texas team is not as sexy as taking a team from outside areas with Big 12 schools.

The moral of the story here is do not allow one school in a conference favoritism over the others. Profit sharing in the Big 12 is not equal like it is in the Big 10 or SEC. The Longhorn Network destroyed the Big 12 conference. If the playing field is not equal for all schools, why stick around?

All Hell Could Break Loose This Week

If Texas A&M heads to the Southeastern Conference next week, the conference shuffle will start all over again.

Likely, the SEC would want to get a fourteenth team for the sake of balance. It will likely go after Florida State or Clemson from the ACC, or Missouri from the Big 12. Right now, Mizzou says it is committed to staying in the Big 12. Other sexy additions could be Louisville, Georgia Tech, or Virginia Tech. Any of these teams would geographically be a good fit for the SEC.

To replace the Aggies, the Big 12 would likely go after Houston, Texas Christian, Southern Methodist, or BYU. As long as Texas and Oklahoma stick together, the conference could probably survive in some form.

The Big Ten and Pac-12 could expand as well, but that won't likely happen unless it becomes apparent alot of dominoes start falling and these conferences need to go on the defense to stay competitive with a superconference consisting of either fourteen or sixteen teams.

The Big East and ACC sit in a precarious position. Both could get poached from. They are both seen as more of basketball conferences rather than football conferences. Keep in mind that college football generates more money than college basketball. The Big East needs to get on with expanding to ten teams if it wants to ensure its survival. Moving Villanova's football program up from the FCS to the FBS would require a much larger stadium than Villanova Stadium, and it looks like the Wildcats either don't have the space and/or money to expand their miniscule 12,500-seat stadium. Using Lincoln Financial Field, where the Philadelphia Eagles play, for home games is not an option; Temple uses this stadium as its home field.

Conference Realignment Summary

After chatting with some coworkers, it became apparent that many college football fans are still confused about the conference realignments in the FBS and when these moves take affect. Here is a summary.

Fall 2011
-Nebraska is playing in the Big 10.
-Colorado and Utah are playing in the Pacific-12.
-Boise State is playing in the Mountain West.
-BYU becomes an independant.

Fall 2012
-Fresno State, Nevada, and Hawaii move to the Mountain West.
-Texas Christian moves to the Big East.
-UT-San Antonio and Texas State move up from the FCS the Western Athletic Conference.
-Massachusetts moves up from the FCS into the Mid-America Conference.

MWC Home Attendance Figures

	Air Force			Brigham Young
Falcon Stadium			LaVell Edwards Stadium
S4 Northwestern State	40,236		S4 Washington	63,771
S11 BYU	46,692		S25 Nevada	61,471
O2 Navy	47,565		O9 San Diego State	62,176
O9 Colorado State	41,547		O23 Wyoming	60,505
O30 Utah	37,211		O30 UNLV	61,283
N13 New Mexico	27,309		N20 New Mexico	59,077
AVERAGE	40,093		AVERAGE	61,381
	Colorado State			New Mexico
Hughes Stadium			University Stadium
S25 Idaho	23,925		S11 Texas Tech	25,734
O2 TCU	22,553		S18 Utah	23,940
O16 UNLV	30,753		O2 UTEP	22,511
O30 New Mexico	18,266		O23 San Diego State	16,488
N13 BYU	16,501		N6 Wyoming	18,017
			N23 TCU	18,640
AVERAGE	22,400		AVERAGE	20,888
	San Diego State			TCU
Qualcomm Stadium			Amon Carter Stadium
S4 Nicholls State	25,290		S11 Tennessee Tech	37,117
S25 Utah State	45,682		S18 Baylor	47,493
O16 Air Force	28,178		O9 Wyoming	38,081
N6 Colorado State	34,689		O16 BYU	40,416
N20 Utah	34,951		O23 Air Force	46,096
N27 UNLV	22,091		N13 San Diego State	45,694
AVERAGE	31,814		AVERAGE	42,483
	UNLV			Utah
Sam Boyd Stadium			Rice-Eccles Stadium
S4 Wisconsin	31,107		S2 Pittsburgh	45,730
S25 New Mexico	16,961		S11 UNLV	45,102
O2 Nevada	28,958		S25 San Jose State	45,099
O30 TCU	16,745		O23 Colorado State	45,029
N13 Wyoming	16,111		N6 TCU	46,522
N18 Air Force	13,790		N27 BYU	45,272
AVERAGE	20,612		AVERAGE	45,459
	Wyoming
War Memorial Stadium
S4 Southern Utah	20,043
S18 Boise State	29,014
S25 Air Force	22,413
O16 Utah	20,014
O30 San Diego State	16,252
N20 Colorado State	17,011
AVERAGE	20,791

AVERAGE ATTENDANCE BY SCHOOL

Brigham Young	61,381
Utah	45,459
TCU	42,483
Air Force	40,093
San Diego State	31,814
Colorado State	22,400
New Mexico	20,888
Wyoming	20,791
UNLV	20,612